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Herald THE SUNDAY
An Edition of
Family’s fatal fued
He’ll get up to 18 years for killing sis
Business: Gift
basket firm gets some help. Page 13.
BY STEVE POWELL spowell@arlingtontimes.com
Eagle soccer team gets redemption. Page 10.
INDEX BUSINESS
13
CLASSIFIED ADS 16-18 LEGALS
9
OPINION
4
SPORTS
10
WORSHIP
14
Vol. 125, No. 41
Steve Powell/Staff Photo
This old farm in Arlington Heights looks peaceful on a recent spring day, but it was the site of a brutal murder two years ago when David Thorsen, inset in jail uniform, killed his older sister, Karen Harris, with a blunt instrument. Thorsen’s older sister, Karen Harris, 53, arrived later at the home at 13229 240th St. NE. In a suicide note found next to the other letter, Thorsen wrote that he didn’t care much for his older sister either. He used disparaging remarks about her, saying she was not to receive any property upon his death.
According to charging papers: Thorsen later tried to kill himself, but was unsuccessful. He did kill his sister, however, and pleaded guilty May 7. Thorsen, now 52, will be sentenced June 11. The range is 12 to 18 years. He has been in jail since June 9, 2013, on seconddegree murder charges with bail set at $1 million.
Prosecutor Hal Hupp said there was never any evidence of premeditation to merit a more-serious charge. About three hours after police left that June 8, they had to come back because Anneliese and Angeline Bennett, a mother and daughter, called 911. They had a dispute with Harris over horses housed at the
Thorsen home. Angeline reported Harris screamed and pushed her. Police left about a half-hour later, when it was agreed the Bennetts would return the next day to take their horses. About a half-hour after that, a neighbor said she heard a woman yell: “Don’t. SEE MURDER, PAGE 2
MicroGreen co-founder tries another Arlington business BY KIRK BOXLEITNER kboxleitner@marysvilleglobe.com
ARLINGTON — Krishna Nadella was frank in describing MicroGreen Polymers as “a highprofile failure,” but it hasn’t made him shy about starting a second company in Arlington. Nadella, the CEO and founder of Aiooa, spoke to the Rotary Club
of Arlington May 14 about his new company and MicroGreen, which he co-founded in 2002. He and fellow cofounder Greg Branch, who lived in Stanwood, chose to relocate from Seattle to Arlington in 2006 because it was as far south as was affordable for them. “Once we set up shop here, I realized what amazing assets this location had,” said Nadella, of India.
MicroGreen boasted 175 employees at its peak, 140 of whom were in manufacturing, and most of whom lived within 10 miles of the company’s 10,000-square-foot facility at the Arlington Airport. MicroGreen drew $80 million from investors, but its operations suddenly shut down recently after one of its largest backers, the Confederated Tribes of the Grand
Ronde in Oregon, foreclosed on the company. This has made Nadella reluctant to rely too much on outside investors for Aiooa. “It’s better to grow your own revenues,” said Nadella, who paid no heed to those who told him to move his manufacturing to China. “I already moved to America, so why SEE BUSINESS, PAGE 2
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Sports:
ARLINGTON – When David Walter Thorsen’s dad died, he moved in with his mom in a small, old rural home northeast of town for two months. But he apparently didn’t like her much. In a letter found in his room addressed “Dearest Mom” dated May 27, 2013, he used disparaging language and curse words toward his mother, Betty, with the hope that she would die. Less than two weeks later, on June 8, Betty Elaine Thorsen, 80, was dead, having fallen down the home’s basement steps. David Thorsen found her there and called police, who arrived at about 5:43 a.m.